( – promoted by odum)

UPDATE 3/24: Zow! The Vermont Guardian is reporting that “Vermont’s entire congressional delegation and the governor are calling on the Associated Press to come clean about why it fired long-time journalist Chris Graff, and are asking him to be reinstated to his post.” Good grief! I don’t think this story is going away anytime soon. Go Chris!

The story of the firing of Graff, a local institution and universally regarded nice guy, is kicking up a firestorm within and beyond Vermont’s borders. Graff’s firing is becoming the new emblem of an ideological swing to the right (or at least a running desperately away from the left) in the mainstream media. Bloggers are suggesting that Graff is only the latest in a string of such firings at the AP, although I haven’t seen verification of that.

But people are fired up.

Drudge has picked it up (yuck). At DailyKos, there is a recommended diary from BriVT with 120 comments from across the nation. BriVT’s lead in sums up the feelings:

The most respected person in Vermont journalism, Chris Graff, was just fired by the Associated Press, axed after almost 27 years as the Vermont Bureau chief. The proximate cause? Running a column by a Democrat.

There’s more to the story, and it’s a perfect illustration of the degradation of the American media, and what progressives (and anyone interested in a functioning democracy) are up against …

Graff makes for an unlikely symbol of right-wing oppression. Conservatives will complain that he’s soft on Leahy, but he’s also been at least as easy on fellow Middlebury alum and GOP Governor Jim Douglas. Still, it’s the Leahy factor that’s caused the furor. The one thing I have heard from insiders is that many still believe there must be more to the story. I suppose we’ll all know soon enough. There’s just too much scrutiny on the matter for any secrets to be kept for long.